I had the honor and the privilege being called for jury duty for the first time. I do believe that it is our civic duty and I am glad to have had the experience but also grateful that I was not selected as a juror for either case. One young man was being tried for assault on a law enforcement officer with a firearm. The other was a civil case in which a man was suing an insurance company three years after a car accident.

I felt for the parties involved in the cases. So much was riding on the outcomes of the respective trials. It reinforced for me what Paul teaches in 1 Corinthians 6 (MSG):

And how dare you take each other to court! When you think you have been wronged, does it make any sense to go before a court that knows nothing of God’s ways instead of a family of Christians? The day is coming when the world is going to stand before a jury made up of followers of Jesus. If someday you are going to rule on the world’s fate, wouldn’t it be a good idea to practice on some of these smaller cases? Why, we’re even going to judge angels! So why not these everyday affairs? As these disagreements and wrongs surface, why would you ever entrust them to the judgment of people you don’t trust in any other way?

I say this as bluntly as I can to wake you up to the stupidity of what you’re doing. Is it possible that there isn’t one levelheaded person among you who can make fair decisions when disagreements and disputes come up? I don’t believe it. And here you are taking each other to court before people who don’t even believe in God! How can they render justice if they don’t believe in the God of justice?

These court cases are an ugly blot on your community. Wouldn’t it be far better to just take it, to let yourselves be wronged and forget it? All you’re doing is providing fuel for more wrong, more injustice, bringing more hurt to the people of your own spiritual family.